A number of recent updates from PIEF (Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum) have been issued in response to the recent increase in violent resistance to the occupation and oppressive Israeli response. The following three posts are recirculated from the PIEF Post, a newsletter issued by PIEF.

The meeting clearly recognized that the current violence is an asymmetrical struggle between sides with vastly different levels of power. It stressed that "the present conflict is between the Palestinian people and the Israeli occupation. In other words, the conflict will not end until the occupation ends". The meeting also identified crucial issues that Christians in Palestine and around the world must address so as to disallow "despair among Palestinians and a sense of license among Israelis".

PIEF urges all recipients of this report to distribute it widely using your websites, Facebook pages, Twitter, and any other avenue which will get the message out to people who subscribe to the cause of a just peace in Palestine in the here and now.

In solidarity,

Ranjan Solomon Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum

UN Protection for PalestiniansOctober 15, 2015

Nothing substantive has happened by way of international intervention that can break the current round of Israeli oppression and Palestinian resistance. The immediate causes for the trouble which started in Jerusalem at the site of the al-Aqsa mosque, has now spilled over into the West Bank and even Gaza. It threatens to destabilize the entire region.

Palestinians hold on to the conviction that for peace to come, the occupation must end. The current round of violence, analysts say, must be seen in this context – not just as a conflagration involving the Palestinian resistance and the army. For now, however, that seems to be a rather distant dream given the intransigence of the Israel occupation. Palestinians are, therefore, seeking something more tangible and immediate. They are calling for “an international force to protect them, given that the Palestinian Authority is unable to do so, and Israel is unwilling.” As Diana Buttu, Ramallah-based analyst puts it: “For nearly five decades, Palestinians - refugees and stateless - have lived under the wrath of the most powerful army in the region”. In her Q & A, she firmly states her view that this must change.

Human Human Rights Organizations in Israel: Politicians’ calls to police and soldiers to shoot rather than arrest endorse the killing of Palestinians

Since the beginning of the current wave of violence, there has been a worrying trend to use firearms to kill Palestinians who have attacked Israelis or are suspected of such attacks. Several incidents have been documented and reported, raising concern that the chosen response to such persons is the harshest possible, with lethal or – at the very least – unnecessary consequences. In instances when Jews have been suspected of attacks, none of the suspects has been shot.Politicians and senior police officers have not only failed to act to calm the public climate of incitement, but on the contrary have openly called for the extrajudicial killing of suspects. They have also urged civilians to carry weapons. For example, Jerusalem District Police Commander Moshe Edri was quoted as saying: “Anyone who stabs Jews or hurts innocent people is due to be killed.” Interior Security Minister Gilad Arden declared that “every terrorist should know that he will not survive the attack he is about to commit.” MK Yair Lapid stated that “you have to shoot to kill anyone who pulls out a knife or screwdriver.” Much of the media joined in and encouraged a similar approach. The bodies responsible for supervising police operations – the State Attorney’s Office and the Department for the Investigation of Police – remained silent in the face of these comments.No-one disputes the serious nature of the events of recent days, nor the need to protect the public against stabbing and other attacks. However, it seems that too often, instead of acting in a manner consistent with the nature of each incident, police officers and soldiers are quick to shoot to kill. The political and public support for such actions endorses the killing Palestinians in the Territories and in Israel.Rather than imposing collective punishment on Palestinians in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli government should act to end the reality of ongoing and daily oppression faced by some four million people who live without hope of any change in the situation, without any horizon for the end of occupation, and without prospects for a life of liberty and dignity.

The statement is signed by the following organizations:Association for Civil Rights in IsraelAmnesty International – Israel BranchB'TselemGishaPublic Committee Against Torture in IsraelHaMoked – Center for the Defence of the IndividualYesh Din – Volunteers for Human RightsAdalah – The Legal Center for the Rights of the Arab Minority in IsraelPhysician for Human Rights – Israel

News Sources

Other Blogs

A network of the Saskatchewan Conference of the United Church of Canada.

The United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine and Israel may make available certain information provided by third parties related to the circumstances in Palestine and Israel. Information is provided for educational purposes. Any opinions expressed in the material is that of the source and not necessarily that of the network.